Monthly Archives: October 2013

13 tips for Craigslist sellers: use some common sense!

Craigslist sellers take advantage of a great worldwide classified ads site that doesn’t cost them a penny.  Yet many of these sellers make things so frustrating for buyers, that many buyers pass up items due to the wonky terms some of these sellers use.

The first rule of marketing and promotion: make it easy for the buyer to buy from you.  Yet, why do so many CL sellers go against the grain and put hurdles in place?

Here are some helpful tips.  I don’t expect many CL sellers to follow these, but I had to put it out there. I’m sure many will agree.

  1. Always use, accept and read email. Always.  No exceptions. Nothing is more frustrating to us than a buyer who wants buyers to only call or text them. What if I can’t call, or don’t want to?  We are not near a phone 24/7, nor will you like us calling at 3:00am if we spot your item for sale.  Seller, stop being lazy.  This is 2013, not the dark ages.  You should know how to use email by now.  By the same token…
  2. The more contact methods you have, the better.  Email? Always, without exception.  Phone or text?  Even better!  If you’re a business, you might even include your location so visitors can stop by.  However…
  3. Be careful if you are an individual–never give out your home address in a publicly listed ad!
  4. List a fair price. Do your research.  I’m not paying $150 for your 7″ Kindle Fire HD when the same exact item sells new on Amazon for $139.  Check out prices for pre-owned equivalents to what you have, and use the absolute lowest figure you find–this is often as much as most CL buyers expect to pay.  Unfortunate as it may be.
  5. Also, never sell items as a bundle.  Gaming systems are a prime example.  Yes, you may want to sell your Wii bundle with 30 games for $400, but consider the following.  Who has $400 to blow all at once?  Not many.  Breaking up the items makes the smaller chunks more affordable.  With a gaming system, most buyers are only going to like maybe three or four of your 30 titles.  Why should they buy the extra 26 they don’t want?  Selling minor needed accessories with a game console makes sense, but leave the games out (unless it is a single game bundle).  You will even want to split those games up and sell as several related groups or better yet, individually.
  6. Next up: If I respond, please reply. Don’t leave me hanging.  At least tell me a sale is pending.  Or that the item is sold.  But if that item is sold…
  7. Remove your sold items.  Promptly.  If you have a pending sale, note that also. Common courtesy.  Speaking of courtesy…
  8. Be courteous and polite in your replies.  Snipping at a potential buyer does you no favors.
  9. Skip the rambling paragraph about spammers, scammers, etc.  Asking us to use a unique subject line is OK; trust me, most users know a scam  or spam when they see it, and your rambling will do nothing to stop spammers or scammers anyway–they’ll do what they want to.
  10. Learn how to take proper digital photos.  If you must use a camera in your phone, use it correctly and give us a sharp, zoomed in, clear photo at full size.  And please learn how to rotate them properly!
  11. Do not ever use keywords in a post.  Many of us now search on titles only.  Keywords will also get you flagged by others, including yours truly–it is forbidden in CL’s terms of service, actually.  Keywords do nothing but pollute the search results with unwanted items, and you only anger those who see your unrelated listing in their search results.  Never use keywords.  Ever.  And also…
  12. Do not “vertical spam”.  Yes, we see your ad.  We don’t need to see it four times in a row.  You think keyword spamming pisses people off?  Vertical spamming will get all of your posts flagged.  Serves you right.
  13. And finally…learn how to spell and use your grammar. Not everyone has to be perfect, but posting in childish “txt spk” or in such poorly written English (or native language of choice) that we can barely understand it does you no favors.

It’s not that hard to create a good, concise listing on Craigslist.  Follow these tips and your listings will be most effective…without getting flagged!

Walker CJ55 Reboot

After many years I have finally found a replacement belt for my Walker CJ55 turntable.  I have had to order it in from the UK, at far less cost than a couple of US vendors who wanted $25 or more for it!

Walker CJ-55 TurntableThis is a last ditch effort to give the CJ55 a reboot, or boot it out the door.  Since the day I bought it in 1983, it has been notoriously obnoxious in regard to speed.  It never could hold a pitch without wavering.  And on top of it, the platter rotated a bit too fast.  A year or two ago, I solved the pitch problem by finding some fat rubber bands to wrap around the subplatter.  That works fine.  I also had to sell off the Music Hall I had, and had to return its belt from the Walker.  The Music Hall belt was a little too tight for the CJ55, pulling the suspension toward the motor, but at least it could control the platter speed.

This new belt is probably the correct original size, but I have been thinking that the original size was too loose.  It can be a little tighter without affecting the floating suspension.  I had an idea: why not move the motor?  The motor is mounted on a small bit of board fastened to the underside of the plinth.  I can probably move it 1/2″ to 3/4″ outward, adding more tension to the belt.  This beats trying to mess with other belts I’ve found that are the wrong width.  Looking over the build of this turntable, though, it is rather slipshod.  That board the motor is attached to has a couple of other holes in it that make it look like it was reused from another project.  Me drilling a few more holes, or just moving the whole board outward, isn’t going to make any difference now.

There was also a modification possible for the motor, doing something to the shaft in order to make the motor operate smoother.  Still tracking that down.  It also feels like the platter rotation could be smoother–it is time to swap out the old oil and put in some new.  To make it look better, I am going to paint the black bottom half, as the current rough finish shows off scuffs and dirt to easily.  I can easily touch up and re-oil the top surface.  Heck, I may even sand it down and stain it, and give it some coats of polyurethane to give it some gloss.  As for the innards, the bottom panel is flimsy fiberboard–I may replace that with thicker wood and install some real feet to this thing (the current feet are–get this–little cork pucks), or just dampen this one with something like Dynamat.  

I figure if this belt thing works, it will hold me over until I buy a completely new turntable.  (I am looking at the Pro-Ject 6Perspex as a replacement, which will go nicely with the new cartridge I’ll be purchasing.)  If not, this headache will go up on eBay and can become someone else’s problem.

The saddest thing about this?  I really like the sound of this turntable.  The Denon is certainly competent, but it does not have that richness that the Walker CJ55/Grace 707-II has.  I look forward to hearing it again…hopefully without all the problems this time!

 

Cartridge Hopping

I was waiting for the day this would happen: the stylus on my Shure V15 Type V has finally worn out.  (Amusingly, this is the first stylus for that cartridge I ever wore out–I managed to damage the brittle cantilever in all the other styli I’d owned!)  Records just didn’t sound right, and with this trusty old V15 racking up the miles, it was only a matter of time before the diamond would wear down.

Buying a VN5MR replacement stylus is a gamble.  These replacements are known to have a shelf life, where the suspension may actually solidify over time unless the whole assembly is stored in an airtight container.  I would never buy a used one, as the cantilever is very brittle and easily bent or broken; plus, there is no telling how much the stylus was used, without the benefit of a microscope.  Buying a new one is the only sane option, yet the few that appear now are very expensive and rarely listed.

The V15 Type V MR is not to be confused with the Type Vx, whose stylus assembly is not interchangeable.  The original Type V uses the grey stabilizer, where the Vx replacement had a maroon stabilizer.  The Vx is the 1990s reissue of the original, which came along in 1982.  I bought my Type V back in 1982, in fact, right after it was released.  Even though it first shipped with the “HE” (Shure’s Hyperelliptical) stylus, it still was a revelation, tracking anything I threw at it.  The “MR” (MicroRidge) stylus was released in 1983, and I promptly bought one.  Over the years, of course, I went through a few of them.  When Shure discontinued manufacturing of the replacements several years ago, supplies dried up.

So, that leaves me with hardly any choice to stick with my trusty V15.  What should I replace it with?  I have rolled a few options over in my head.  Criteria?  Tracking ability is top–if it can’t track a groove without distortion, I can’t listen to it for very long.  Of all the carts I’ve owned or heard, only those with some kind of “line contact” stylus can track the type of records I sometimes play.  Beyond that, I like a bit more of a laid back presentation.  Cartridges can have some extension on top, but if it is overly forward or bright, it grates on my nerves.  But I like a fuller midrange and a well controlled bass; overall, I like it to sound fluid and musical.  Revealing…but not in the traditional “treble heavy” sense that many attribute to a revealing component–I like to hear inner details and little nuances.

With all that in mind, here are some of my choices.

Sonata1 & Platinum1Grado Gold or Grado Reference Platinum: of all the cartridges I’ve owned, the two Grados I had are among my favorites.  The drawback is that these Grado cartridges all use an elliptical stylus.  Only their top of the line cart for $3000 has something close to a line contact stylus.  A shame.  Such beautiful sound, with limited tracking ability.

Audio Technica AT150MLX or AT440MLa: fantastic trackers!  Yet, current and past AT carts I’ve heard have been on the bright side, and I cannot listen to them for long as I find them tiring and tedious.  The AT150MLX is the more refined of the two.  Even back in the 1970s I didn’t care for the AT sound: my grandfather had replaced his Shure M44 with an AT, and I didn’t care for its emphasis on a “forward” type of sound.

Audio Technica OC9 Mk III: AT’s low output moving coil.  It has the same Microline stylus as the 150MLX and 440MLa, but utilizes a moving coil.  Disadvantages:  I’ve never heard it, I don’t yet own a step-up transformer, and I cannot replace the stylus.  My aging, arthritic fingers are not as nimble as they used to be.  I do not want a cartridge to fear me.

Dynavector DV20X2 or Karat 17D3:  the Karat series has been on my “lusting after” list for years.  The 17D3 utilizes an extremely short cantilever made out of diamond.  Yet the price tag and lack of user-replaceable stylus are deal killers for me.  These will be on the back burner for awhile.

Nagaoka MP-500:  This one looks interesting, having a good stylus tip and many users reporting it to be a very musical cartridge.  It is a bit out of my budget at the moment, however, but it will be one to watch in the near future.

Ortofon MC-3 Turbo:  A high-output moving coil from Ortofon.  It utilizes their “Nude Fine Line” stylus, just like the 2M Bronze.  Yet, I could find few reviews of this cartridge.

2M Bronze Verso hifisiteOrtofon 2M Black or 2M Bronze:  both are moving magnet cartridges.  The 2M Bronze uses the Nude Fine Line, but the 2M Black uses a genuine Shibata stylus, which many reviews have praised for its ability to extract information out of the grooves.  One went so far as to say the 2M Black was the logical successor to the V15 Type V/Vx due to its outstanding tracking ability, neutrality and outstanding musicality.  The audiophile press even likes it!  Those who have heard both the Black and the Bronze noted the improvement in the Black.  My question: is it really $200-$300 better?

Time will tell.  By the end of this year I will have picked my choice and will update here.  My current choice would be the 2M Black.

Tired of the Windows 8 Hate

Maybe my opinion is unpopular, but for the life of me, I can’t quite understand all the hate toward Windows 8.  Yes, the new start screen is not all that great.  But the way I use a computer may be out of the ordinary compared to most “home” based users.

The first thing users need to keep in mind is that outside of the new start screen, Windows 8 is not all that new.  The jump from the archaic Windows XP to Vista was large for a reason: XP is based on the obsolete Windows NT 4.x series, whereas Vista is actually Windows NT 5.0 (although the NT designation has been dropped).  Windows 7 is in reality Windows 5.1, and Windows 8 actually 5.2.  I still don’t understand why they numbered the OS as confusingly as this, but at least it is not as senseless as naming it after…cats.  Cats? Seriously?  No wonder a certain OS is not taken seriously in the corporate world.  Anyway…

I upgraded (yes, upgraded) to Windows 8 for the improvements to the core OS.  And there are many.  Numerous changes to features such as the File Explorer have made the OS far easier to use.  New devices are also easy to add:  my new-ish Canon multifunction network printer/scanner pretty much installed itself.  And VueScan, once installed, automatically discovered and supported the Canon’s scanner.  There are too many other enhancements to explore them all fully here and beside that, they are well documented on the Internet anyway.

But what about that start screen?  It does work nicely on a touchscreen.  Even the standard Windows desktop responds nicely to touch–double-tap an icon to open a file or program.  Drag things around.  It all works nicely with touch.

That’s the thing: for those who use their computer as a computer and not a touch interface, we spend 99.9% of our time on the desktop anyway.  That’s right!  In my day to day computing, I’m at the desktop.  It looks almost the same as it did in Windows 7 (albeit with a few styling changes and enhancements).  Plus, there are ways around the whole start menu fiasco.

In my case, I downloaded Start8 from Stardock as a trial, and liked it enough to keep it.  The whiners out there will complain about spending $4.99 on a little utility for Windows.  If you can’t afford $4.99, you shouldn’t even own a computer; ditch that unhealthy overpriced “designer” coffee for a day instead.  With Start8, I log in and go right to the desktop if I want to.  All of my applications are back in a start menu where I want them.  I actually do not use the start menu much anyway: Quick Launch is still in Windows, and I have about 50 icons in a second row in my taskbar as a result, as I’ve always had them since the days of XP.  I have never liked pinning anything to the taskbar (it eats up too much space), so Quick Launch is a far better and more compact alternative for me.  Aside from a custom styled start menu button I created, anyone can log in to this computer and get a standard Windows experience right off the bat.

Do I use the new Modern start screen?  Yes.  I switch over to that mode for a diversion.  I’ll read the news in nice big print, using the news app.  I’ll take in a few games of Taptiles or Wordament.  I’ll check out a few more things.  Once I’m done, one tap of the mouse takes me right back to my work-cluttered Windows desktop.

Windows 8 has too many good enhancements to just write off completely.  And with utilities such as Start8 on hand, that familiar Windows experience is still there.  To the complainers: your whining has gotten old, and most of us are tired of hearing about it.  Seriously.